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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes July 15, 2003 Page 13 7.3 City of St. Anthony. 3501/3505 Silver Lake Road. 2 3 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 9:41 p.m. 4 5 Susan Hall stated that on June 17, Oertel Architects brought forward concept plans to the 6 Planning Commission for a new fire station. She explained that the request requires a 7 conditional use permit because it is located in an R-1 zoning district and reviewed with the 8 Commission. She stated that the Fire Department is sensitive to the fact that the station would 9 be located near a residential area and acknowledged the concern regarding noise levels. She 10 explained that Chief Hewitt held a neighborhood meeting on July 9`h to receive feedback from 11 the neighbors. She stated that Jeff Oertel is present to discuss the final plans and renderings with 12 the Commission. Ms. Hall also mentioned one front yard setback variance of 11 feet is being 13 requested for the plans for a proposed setback of 19 feet. 14 15 Jeff Oertel, Oertel Architects, provided the Commission with a presentation and overview of the 16 final plans and rendering. He reviewed the variance request with the Commission stating that 17 the municipal complex includes City Hall, the Police Department, the school and park. He 18 stated that the proposed building for the site is approximately 13,000 square feet and includes 19 significant parking for staff and visitors. He stated that it would include three drive-through 20 bays for their apparatus and that the back of the building would be host to the tower, the training 21 tower and stairway. He stated that they have two options to consider for the exterior and provided examples of the building materials for the Commission to review. He asked that they allow the 19-foot setback due to the trees at the back of the site. He stated that they were able to 24 balance off the site so that they do not need to bring in additional fill. He provided an overview 25 of the schematic for the site and reviewed the location of building and entrances with the 26 Commission. He explained that the building consists of work areas, apparatus bays, and public 27 and office areas. He stated that the second floor indicates the staff area, dorm rooms, restrooms, 28 laundry and showers. He acknowledged the Mayor's request to consider adding an option for a 29 combined community room with training area and reviewed the request with the Commission. 30 He provided the Commission with an overview of various elevations and materials. 31 32 Chair Melsha asked what would happen if they did not get the variance. Mr. Oertel reviewed 33 stating that it does not appear to be a lot of distance, adding that it would be more consistent with 34 the adjacent residential facades. He explained that they would require approximately 10-feet for 35 a work area at the construction site. He further explained that the area they need is right to the 36 grip line of the trees stating that if they go beyond the grip line that the vegetation could be lost. 37 He stated that the amount of fill that would be needed, if they did not get the variance, would 38 considerable and would also be very costly. He further explained that the east elevation has a 39 very steep drop off noting that they were very concerned about the storm water runoff. He stated 40 that by keeping the building forward on the southeast corner would allow them to create a small 41 pond to collect the storm water runoff. 42 43 Commissioner Hanson expressed concerns regarding the fagade on the west side of the building and asked if there were any changes. Mr. Oertel stated that the fagade did not change very VO much. He explained that they considered using a stone infill in the middle of the building. He 46 stated that they reviewed several options noting that the change in color drew more attention to